Celebritology 2.0: May 16, 2010 - May 22, 2010

The three stories you need to know about this weekend... Apparently stepping out on America's Sweetheart is one way to land a splashy interview on ABC's "Nightline." Erstwhile cable show host Jesse James, who betrayed cute-as-a-button Oscar winner Sandra Bullock with at least one buxom tattoo model, considers himself the "most hated man in the world." Which may be a bit of a stretch, but we're guessing James won't get much sympathy when his first interview since the cheating scandal erupted in March airs on Tuesday. Expect James to open up about his infidelity, a short stint in rehab and whether or not he'll have any part in raising Louis Bardo, the baby he and Bullock were in the process of adopting when the cheating scandal broke. Oh, and based on footage already making rounds on the Web, a visibly upset James comes thisclose to shedding a few tears....

Update: As promised, here's the video shot at last night at our "Lost" Farewell Fest happy hour: -- 2:52 p.m. ET --- In case you missed it, Jen and I sat down this morning for a short live video chat to talk about our expectations for Sunday’s big series ender. Watch the archived video below to get our thoughts on everything from what won’t be addressed in the finale to which character we’d like to see flattened by a Dharma food drop: {"movie":"http://media10.washingtonpost.com/wp/swf/OmniPlayer.swf","id":"oplayer-video-swf", "width":"454", height:"295","vars":{"title":"LOST Finale preview: Guys, where are we?", "stillURL":"http://media.washingtonpost.com/media/images/16-9_video_480x270.jpg", "flvStreamingServer":"rtmp://cp18263.edgefcs.net/ondemand", "flvURL":"2010-05/222693/225345", "autoStart":false,"clickThru":"http://live.washingtonpost.com/lost-finale-preview.html"},"params":{ "allowFullScreen":"true"} } And, since we’re talking “Lost,” here are a few more items on our radar going into the weekend… Read Hank Stuever's excellent piece from today's paper about the "Lost" vibe and the show's parallels with, well, the real world over the past six years. Here's a taste: As it lugubriously ends Sunday night...

UPDATE: I heard back from an ABC rep who says the information mentioned below about the Ilana/Jacob connection is "incorrect." So perhaps Robinson misunderstood or just flat-out misspoke? Another island mystery. ----------------------- A bit of breaking "Lost" news (well, as breaking as news can be about a character who died four episodes ago): Ilana Verdansky was Jacob's daughter. That's what Zuleikha Robinson, the actress who played the vest-wearing Ajira Airlines flight survivor, revealed at the Wednesday opening of a "Lost" gallery exhibit at the Vilcek Foundation in New York. She was chatting with me and another journalist when we asked if she could tell us anything more about her character's relevance to the broader narrative on the show. "I was supposed to be Jacob's daughter," she confirmed, adding that the writers ultimately decided they didn't have enough time to fully address that part of the "Lost" saga in the number...

There's nothing like having a little pizza pie and talking a little "Lost" with the two guys in charge of the show: Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. I caught LindeCuse for a brief conversation at Angelo's on 53rd in New York City, right next door to the Ed Sullivan Theater, where the guys shared their big list of the top 10 "Lost" finale spoilers during a taping of "The Late Show With David Letterman." (Letterman's writers are the ones who come up with the items, but Lindelof and Cuse said they had to ask them to change one of those finale riffs because "it was too close to being true." I don't even know what to make of that.) The segment, by the way, can be seen here: But before Damon and Carlton made their "Letterman" debut, there was soda, pizza with pepperoni and a conversation that covered the polarized...

Have "Bieber Fever" yet? You should. This week alone, the barfy 16-year-old overly-coiffed singing dynamo has been quoted describing himself as a "great kisser." And scored a BET Award nomination. And, because he's, like, everywhere, last night Bieber cluttered up the "American Idol" stage with a performance that doubtless left legions of tween girls -- and host Ryan Seacrest -- swooning. According to E! News, Bieber Fever is sweeping the nation. And they have cheesy Seventeen magazine photo shoot footage to prove it: Not a moment too soon, the geniuses at Free Art and Technology Lab have deployed the killer app: this handy Firefox add-on which, once installed, censors all mentions of the tween sensation from your Web pages. (Warning: The accompanying video at the above link, while funny, does contain some NSFW language.) The colorfully titled Shaved Bieber Firefox add-on in action. Download and de-Bieber-ize this blog post. You...

Rick Bayless poses at his Frontera Grill restaurant in Chicago. (AP) Is celebrity chef Rick Bayless cooking up controversy ahead of the second official Obama administration White House dinner? Wary of any undue attention after last November's infamous gate-crashing by Virginia fame-seekers Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the White House -- armed with a new social secretary -- has been working overtime to limit press surrounding tonight's event. But Chicago-based restaurateur Bayless has been tweeting since his arrival in D.C. earlier this week to serve as guest chef for the tonight's dinner in honor of Mexican president Felipe Calderón. While Bayless has commented on everything from the "nice" White House staff to the "rather small" kitchen, he insists (yes, via Twitter) that he has not -- as reported by the Chicaco Sun Times -- tweeted from the White House itself. But, whether tweeting from inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or not,...

Don Cheadle at an 'Iron Man 2' event in April. (Reuters) Don Cheadle isn't invited to tonight's state dinner at the White House, but, joked the "Iron Man 2" star, he may show up anyway. "I don't call it crashing," said Cheadle in a phone interview this morning. "I call it being elegantly present." If only the Salahis had thought of that line. Cheadle is in town to lend his celebrity heft to Global Conservation Act of 2010, a recently introduced bill making its way through the House of Representatives that hopes to push the U.S. to the forefront of the environmental movement. Cheadle, along with Jane Goodall, will host a luncheon briefing tomorrow to raise awareness for the bill. Cheadle points out that the proposed legislation isn't designed to prevent disasters like the BP oil spill currently befouling the Gulf of Mexico, but that the disaster does underscore...

In which Jen and Liz ponder the penultimate episode of "Lost's" final season. Read along, then join them at 2 p.m. ET for the "Lost" Hour live chat. In the meantime, visit "Lost" Central to brush up on your island back story. Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) at long last meet up with Jacob (Mark Pellegrino). (ABC) Liz: As Jacob said during last night's episode, we're very close to the end, Hugo. Except you're not Hugo. You're Jen. Still, his statement resonated far past the confines of the island. For better or worse, this story -- six years in the telling -- will be finished in just four short days and, like the remaining Losties left on the island, we have been forever changed by the experience. Sigh. We want your predictions! In 350 characters or less, tell us how "Lost"...

Who's the cutest "Lost" couple?Cast your votes in our 'Lost' Superlatives poll. Results will be announced Monday, May 24. I've got some major, headache-inducing questions to raise ahead of tonight's last, pre-finale episode of "Lost." But before I delve into them, I need to raise some new business. Item No. 1: During season one, our Losties placed messages in a bottle. Now we're asking you to do the same, albeit in online, prognostication-style form: We want you to predict the final scene of "Lost," in 350 characters or less, via our freshly launched Message in a Bottle page. We'll start uncorking the bottle -- and sharing predictions -- once we amass a few. And we'll share the most spot-on ones on Monday, May 24, after the finale airs. Item No. 2: Now that we've asked for predictions, we need your questions. I am headed to New York on Wednesday...

Another week, another celebrity memorabilia auction. This time around, Marilyn Monroe's iconic bubblegum pink "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" gown is set to hit the auction block and expected to sell for a whopping $150,000-$250,000. Act quickly and you could add it to a growing collection of Monroe artifacts (the actress's chest x-rays were offered for sale in April.) Lest you scoff at that $150K estimate as laughably inflated, consider that the slinky dress Monroe wore when she sang a sexily-inappropriate "Happy Birthday" to President Kennedy in 1962 sold, in 1999, for $1,267,500. Yes, more than one million dollars. And, despite lacking a tie to a potential illicit presidential affair, the "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" gown is arguably the more famous of the two -- spawning countless copycats including, most famously, Madonna's "Material Girl" video which elevated her Madgeness from the ranks of pop wannabes to an icon on par with Monroe. If...

Celebrity Beat: John Travolta's dogs killed in Maine airport accident... Bret Michaels tells Oprah he wore his bandanna in the hospital because he was "ready to go out rockin'"... Sean Penn skipping Cannes premiere to testify at Senate hearing... Demi Moore shopping memoir to publishers... 16-year-old Justin Bieber gets his first tattoo... William Shatner to star in Twitter-inspired CBS sitcom... Amy Adams gives birth to daughter Aviana Olea... Drew Lachey and wife welcome baby boy... Just FYI: Lily Allen isn't pregnant. Video: Tracy Morgan and Betty White get close for New York magazine cover shoot... Rumor Mill: Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt hire ex-Marines to protect them from snipers? Hunh?... Rachel Uchitel to pose for Playboy... Lindsay Lohan reportedly throws a drink in Jessica Stam's face at New York club before heading to Cannes; judge warns Lohan could face jail time if she doesn't show for court appearance... Were...

Everyone loves Betty White. We've more than established that at this point. But you know who else people love, unconditionally and unequivocally? The Muppets. Seriously, find a person who honestly, deep in their soul, loathes the foam-and-felt ambassadors of family comedy delight. It can't be done. And if such a person can be found, I strongly suggest that said person immediately begin some intense psychotherapy. Those who keep close tabs on Muppet-related happenings already know that yesterday was a significant day: May 16 marked the 20th anniversary of the death of Muppet creator Jim Henson, a man for whom those of us in the Washington, D.C. area harbor particular fondness. Henson not only spent part of his childhood here and attended the University of Maryland, he also unveiled the first, primitive Muppets on our local airwaves. As a small tribute to Henson and those Muppets that everyone -- that's right,...

(Paramount Pictures) Tony Stark -- he's just so much more charming than that dour, cash-distributing Robin Hood. At least that's what moviegoers seemed to think this weekend, as their support of "Iron Man 2" easily kept the Robert Downey, Jr. blockbuster in the No. 1 box office position, while Russell Crowe's "Robin Hood" was relegated to second-place status. Here are the significant dollar-sign details. (As always, figures are based on studio projections; final numbers release later today.) Revenues for "Iron Man 2" fell more than 50 percent after last weekend's mammoth opener, which may not bode well for the comic book flick's staying power. But with a weekend gross of $53 million, bringing its North American total alone to more than $200 million, I doubt anyone at Marvel or Paramount studios is boo-hooing too much. Speaking of boo-hooing, please, don't cry too hard for Russell Crowe. "Robin Hood" may...